Enjoy the weekend with children

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fun and children. Can you separate the two? It is no surprise that children's arenas, game centers, food courts and toy stores in most big cities in Indonesia are packed with children every weekend and holiday.

Since video games arrived in the country several years ago, they have remained popular with children and adults, who enjoy the challenge and stimulation they provide.

Many children enjoy playing games at Internet cafes, but others prefer game centers because of the lively atmosphere and all the noises coming from the different machines.

"The images and sounds provide excitement, which is what brings me here," said a ten-year-old boy at the Time Zone game center at Taman Anggrek Mall in West Jakarta.

Most game centers here are outlets of either Time Zone or Amazone. Besides Taman Anggrek Mall, there are also Time Zone outlets in Blok M in South Jakarta, Lippo Karawaci in Tangerang, Banten and in many other malls. Amazone has outlets at a number of malls, including Kelapa Gading Mall in North Jakarta and Depok Mall.

Video games like Dino Duel, Jurasic Park, The Lost World, Formula One Car Racing, Grand Prix Motor and Counter Strike are among the favorites.

For younger children there are much simpler video games like Winnie the Pooh Eating Apple. By simply moving the joystick to the left and right, children can watch on the monitor as a bear tries to catch apples in his mouth dropped by squirrels from a tree.

Kids unfamiliar with the more modern and sophisticated games should not worry, because most game centers also have manually operated games such as throwing a ball into a basket or banging frogs on the head with a hammer.

However, parents with preschool-age children might instead want to take them to children's arena, which usually have a wider selection of fun machines tailored to children that age.

Among the fun and games at children's arenas are battery- powered trains, animals, motorbikes, cars and planes that can rotate or move up and down. It is common to see small children riding on the back of an elephant or in an airplane at children's arenas.

Of course children have to learn at an early age that one way or the other, you have to pay for your fun. At children's arenas and game centers you have to purchase coins or magnetic cards. The price of one coin ranges from Rp 2,000 to Rp 3,000 (about 30 US cent), depending on the game you want to play. For instance, if your son or daughter wants to play a simple game like Honey Bear, it will cost Rp 2,000 for three-minute game. However, for more advanced games it can cost Rp 3,000 for a three-minute game.

While many children absorb themselves in video games, others spend their free time seeking toys, DVDs, accessories or joining programs organized by toy stores, bookstores and hotels.

In sharp contrast to the noisy atmosphere found in game centers, toy stores or bookstores are relatively quiet, except when the stores hold a special program for children.

Many children choose toys on their own, whether action heroes, toy sets, collectibles or remote and radio-controlled cars or dolls. But many others follow the advice of their parents.

At Kidz Station outlet, parents have easy access to educational toys because the toy center provides a special corner for what it calls edutainment items, which combines education and entertainment.

The edutainment toys help stimulate imagination and creativity, including crayons, coloring pencils, block puzzles and even a special computer through which children can learn a foreign language, memorize the alphabet, learn how to count, and practice recognizing different sounds.

If your child is below five, then you can find toys that provide an introduction to colors, shapes and sounds that fuel their curiosity such as rattles or Bab Walkers books.

Prices for toys at Kidz Station range from Rp 3,000 to millions of rupiah, depending on the kind of toy and its quality, size, what it is made of, and the brand.

Kidz Station outlets in malls encourage children under five to stimulate their imagination through an arts & crafts program. Under the program, children are supposed to color the available pictures of different shapes like those of birds, cats, trees and mountains using ink and sand.

At Kidz Station outlets, children also have fun watching a balloon expert demonstrate his skill in transforming balloons into different shapes,

The children's sections of major bookstores, such as Gramedia in Blok M, South Jakarta, are also crowded with children browsing for books or magazines on the weekends. The number increases, when the bookstore organizes children programs like storytelling or a drawing contest.

Several hotels in town are also offering programs to interest children.

At Gran Melia Hotel, for instance, children are encouraged to participate in creative and educational activities through a special program called Senior and Junior Sunday Brunch. The program is held at the hotel's Cafe Gran Via.

Part of the hotel's lobby is transformed into a children's playground, with a spacious inflatable castle inside it. In this setting, children are seen engrossed in drawing or painting.

The Senior and Junior Sunday Brunch program offers various packages ranging from Rp 69.500 per person to Rp 139,000 per person. The package includes snacks and a drink.

The program is dedicated to children, parents and grandpa and grandma and "they are entitled to a 50 percent discount," said Gran Melia Hotel's PR Manager Hana Hoed.